


Hit Fate in the Face

by nevereatdirt



Series: The World Needs You and Yours [3]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Humanstuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-09
Updated: 2013-06-15
Packaged: 2017-12-14 10:09:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/835717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nevereatdirt/pseuds/nevereatdirt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nepeta Leijon has had a crush on her best friend's room mate since she'd first met the Pakistani fire cracker.  Maybe if they just spend some time together...  Just the two of them!  Maybe then she could say what was on her mind to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fight the Good Fight

**Author's Note:**

> Well hello all. If you've come here from my "main" fic, then I should let you know that this happens near the end of the school year, though we may or may not see much of those boys here. This is a KatNep zone. Cute and fluffy is why I'm making this, goddammit!

She sat in her studio apartment with all of the windows open. It was nearing the end of the school year and she was disappointed that all of her friends were going to go home. Well, she was mostly disappointed that _one_ was going to leave. He was her best friend! And he being her best friend gave her an excuse to see her crush, which was nice. She just wished that the boy she liked would notice that she liked him. It was just hard liking someone like that. And it hurt. A lot.

But she just worked on her final project for her drawing course. It was difficult working on such a large multimedia project in her apartment, but it allowed her to chat with friends and catch up on her favorite shows while she worked. And as it just so happened, she had a video chat going with her best friend while she worked on her final and he worked on a side project. Neither of them had said anything for about half an hour, they were honestly at a point in their friendship where they could have a video chat and just leave it running while they worked, but soon the door opened behind him and he turned his head.

She looked up and saw the pixelated image of the boy she liked. His head thrown back and his black hair disheveled. He looked at her friend. “Equius. For the love of all that is holy, go to the lounge. I need some fucking me time right now.”

She could see Equius's eyebrows raise from his profile. “Karkat, though your suggestion does in fact sound like you are about to do something terribly lewd, may I inform you that I am chatting with my dear friend here?”

She saw Karkat frown when he looked at the screen. She just blushed and waved, hoping that he didn't think that she was just a bother. Or that he would remember her name. That would be nice. “Oh. Hey Nepeta.” Score! She didn't really think he'd forget her name, but it was nice to know that he cared enough to know who she was! “Didn't notice you behind this guy's massive fucking shoulders.” He moved to his own desk and threw his pack down. “Seriously though, Equius I just want to be alone and I can't lock those dick weasels out of the lounge. All I want to do is sit down, watch _Hitch_ and eat some fucking popcorn.”

Nepeta giggled to herself. She thought that the way he watched chick flicks was cute. She would love to watch some with him someday. She thought that he'd probably either talk to the screen or just sit enraptured by what was happening.

Either way it would probably be really really cute.

But she just smiled at him, even though he couldn't see her. Equius turned his head. “I'm sorry to have to end our chat so soon, Nepeta. Would you care to convene at a later date?”

“Oh don't be a stick in the mud, Equius! I could just take my project to the dorms and we could sit in the lounge! That way Karkitty gets his space and we get to hang out!” Hopefully she could maybe talk to Karkat too. That would be perfect.

“I suppose that may be a sufficient plan.” He glanced at Karkat. “Would that be suitable?”

“I don't fucking care I just want to either watch a romcom or hit something so hard it explodes.”

He looked back to the screen. “You will meet me here in twenty minutes.”

“I'll be there as soon as I can.”

“Twenty minutes.”

She rolled her eyes. “I'll be there soon. See you soon!”

“Twenty minutes.”

She shook her head, laughing and just closed out of the chat to shut down her computer. While her laptop shut down, she put all of her things into easily transportable containers and finally put her giant project into her portfolio. That was really the worst part of the class. The portfolio was as big as she was and she couldn't bed it at all.

At least her art was nice when she took it out. That was a plus.

Once her things were packed she gave her cat a scratch on the head and some food, then started the short walk to campus. The faded yellow building was well within a ten minute distance, she just hoped that Equius hadn't gotten impatient. He really needed to work on his patience some days!

She made it to the front door and used her student ID to open it. They still hadn't taken her access away, sweet! Though she realized that it probably had something to do with her new hacker friends. They really were great for things like that! She made her way to Equius's suite and knocked on the door. He answered, looming over her. “Hello?” He hadn't looked down yet, though she hadn't really expected him to.

She just laughed it off, though. “I'm down here!”

He looked down and smiled. “Ah, yes, greetings, Nepeta. Do come in.” They went into the room where Karkat was busy packing a bag and she noticed that Equius was hard at work on some sort of new robotics project for the school team.

“So are you seriously fucking kicking me _out_? I just want to watch a romcom and sit in the dark all night you piece of shit!”

“I do not appreciate your lewd vocabulary, Karkat.”

“And I don't appreciate being kicked not only out of the room, but _out of the fucking suite_ so that you can do whatever creepy fucking thing it is that you're going to do!”

“Nepeta and I require space for our projects.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“Oh yeah. Sure. I'll just make my way downtown then?”

“If you would.”

He huffed as he slung his bag over his shoulder. “Fine. I'm just going to go work out in the Brennan Center. Maybe there'll be someone to spar with, I don't fucking know!”

Nepeta tilted her head to the side. “Spar?” She wondered if he was a kick boxer too.

“Yeah, sparring. Like in boxing. Well not just _like_ boxing. I mean boxing.”

“Oh you box! I'm a kick boxer! But I think that I'm a pretty good boxer, too.” She grinned widely. “Do you maybe want to spar with me?” She pointed at herself, hoping that he'd say yes.

He just laughed. “I don't want to fucking hurt you. You can't weight more than, what? Seventy pounds?”

“I weight ninety pounds, thank you very much and it's all muscle!” She put her hands on her hips.

He just shrugged. “Hey I mean I guess if you want to come spar with me instead of working on whatever it is you have in that giant briefcase you can. I just hope it doesn't affect Mum-Ra over here.” He jerked his thumb towards Equius.

“Mind your manners you philistine.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

Nepeta could see Equius starting to sweat and she giggled a little under her breath. “Well if I go with you then a certain very tall friend of mine could invite a certain lovely lady over to watch a movie.” She winked. “And I bet that lovely lady would _love_ having the room to just the two of them...”

Equius coughed and rubbed the back of his neck. It was obvious that he like the idea. “Very well, then. You have my permission to go with Karkat.”

“Yes! I'll see you later then! Is it okay if I leave these things here?”

“Of course you may.” He already had his phone out of his pocket. “I shall see you upon your return.”

“See you, Equius!” She put her things down by the door and ran behind Karkat as they left. Once she'd caught up, she side eyed him, smiling. She'd never really spent time with just him before.

He glanced down at her and she looked away hurriedly. “So... Why'd you want to come with me? I'm not exactly the most pleasant company.” He snorted.

“Well, you've given Equius and some of my other friends some pretty good advice!” He put her hands behind her back and laced her fingers together. “And I was wondering if you'd maybe be willing to help me, too?”

He shrugged. “Sure. What do you need help with?”

She bit her lip. “Well, I like someone. And I want to tell him, but I don't know if I should.”

He frowned. “Is that it? I mean the answer is obvious that you should tell him.”

“Well,,, I'm mostly scared to tell him because I don't know how he feels.”

“How do you feel about him?”

“Well, I like him a lot!”

“And how do you like him?” It was strange hearing how his voice changed when he was giving advice. She'd seen him do it from a distance, but everything about him just seemed more relaxed. His eyebrows her still scrunched, but the rest of his face was at ease and his voice was a little softer. She shook her head, snapping out of her observation.

“Uh, what do you mean by _how_ do I like him? I like him the way he is!”

He laughed a little. “No, I mean, like, do you like him in that way where you all want to do is like suck on his face or fuck him, or do you like like him in a way where if it ended you'd be like “eh, okay we can still be friends I guess” or maybe you like, I don't know, wanna just hold her, uh, his hand and like cuddle and maybe make out,” she noticed that his face had flushed to his ears. It was too cute not to look at. “Or maybe you like like him in that weird way where you want to like hit him but still suck on his face?”

She giggled a little. “I think it's a bit of all of them!”

“Really? Huh. Well what's he like?”

“Oh, he's nice, but I don't think he thinks he is, and he's fun to talk to even though I haven't gotten much of a chance to talk to him at all!” She dropped her hands to her sides and let them sway. “I mean I _could_ tell you a whole lot more.”

“Then why don't you?” His dark eyes searched her face. It was strange seeing him staring at her like that. But it was nice to have his attention solely on her.

“Well if I tell you _too_ much you'll know who he is!”

“And you don't want me to know?”

She squealed. “No! No one must know! It's a secret!” She put her head in her hands. Talking to him about this was just _so_ embarrassing! “But, maybe I could tell you if...”

“If...?”

“If you beat me in a match!”

“Uh-huh. You do realize that I would own you in a match so hard you wouldn't know what happened, right?”

“Well we'll just have to see, won't we?” She smiled widely.

He laughed sharply. “I've been boxing since I was six, Nepeta, I think I've _got_ this.”

“Well I've been in gymnastics since I was three but there people half my age that are better!” They entered the Brennan Center and Karkat held the door for her.

“Yeah I guess. I just don't wanna hurt you.”

“You won't! I'm tough!” She flexed her arms in front of her and gave a little growl. “See?”

He laughed, a little more softly this time. “Okay so you're tough. We're wearing protective shit, though.”

“Okay, _fine_.” She let her arms drop naturally to her sides. “I'll have to get my gear out of my locker, though. We're using the regular practice ring?”

“Yeah. I've gotta change too so meet me there?”

“Sure! See you soon, Karkitty!”

He opened his mouth and let out a horrible growling-hiss. “ _Don't_ call me that!”

She stopped in her tracks. “I'm sorry!”

“Ugh, no, it's fine. People just keep giving me names that are supposed to be like fucking cute or something and I'm not cute! I'm manly as _fuck_!”

“You are. You are indeed quite manly.” She nodded sagely, her cheeks flushed a little. “I have to go change, though. I'll meet you by the ring!”

“All right, see you soon.”

And with that they parted ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I see Kar as a boxer because he's an angry little shit that needs a release. I see Nep in an ass ton of things like kick boxing, boxing, karate, gymnastics and all that because I'm sick of her as just this tiny little kitty cat shipper girl because she's so much more than that. SHE IS A STRONG LITTLE LADY AND I LOVE HER.


	2. Punch the World Until You Feel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really enjoying writing these two right now. They're such nice fluffy contrast to everything else that I'm working on. It's great! =w=

Nepeta changed into her kick boxing gear in the locker room, giving herself a little pep talk in the mirror. She held her fists in front of herself determinedly. “You are a strong lady. You can kick his butt. You will kick his butt because you don't want to tell him.” She hit her fists together a few times. “Even if it hurts his pride.” She nodded at herself and left the locker room.

When she made it to the ring she saw Karkat jumping around in it, jabbing at the air and ducking and weaving. It was strange to see how quickly he could move, though he looked like he was straining against his shirt when he moved. She stood near the edge, smiling up at him and hoping that he'd stop. She didn't want to throw him off in the middle of something.

After a good ten minutes, he looked down and stumbled back. “Nepeta! How fucking long have you been here?”

She shrugged. “Long enough to have watched you do the same right hook at least ten times.”

He laughed a little at himself and put a hand behind his neck. “Yeah I like to work on my right hook sometimes.”

“Ooh, and why's that? Is it your weakness?” She let out a diabolical sound in her throat that sounded more like a purr than anything else and she rubbed her hands together.

“Wouldn't you like to know?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“I bet I'll find out soon enough!” She pulled her way up into the ring and tumbled over to him, springing to her feet easily.

“Whoa that was pretty fucking impressive!”

She giggled. “It should be! I've been in gymnastics since I was three, remember?”

“Oh yeah. You're not just bullshitting me on that one?”

“It's completely true! I was just a little ball of energy as a kid! So my mom decided that it'd be better for me to be in gymnastics to get some of it out.”

“That's pretty fucking cool. Did you like it?”

“I still do!” She put her hands on her hips. “I wouldn't be in it if I didn't like it!”

“Fuck that's like me and boxing.”

“Then we'll see just how much of a fight you can put up!” She got into a boxing stance, hands and the ready and feet spread apart.

“Not like this we won't.”

“Huh?” Her jaw dropped a little. “This is what I wear when I kick-box!”

“Well we're not kickboxing now, are we, kitten?”

“Aw, you called me kitten!” She put her hands on her face and wiggled around.

“Uh, yeah. I always hear you chatting with Equius and you keep using all of those fucking cat puns and talking about cats in general.” He snorted. “It just seemed like a good nickname. But I never use nicknames. I'll stop. It was stupid.”

“No, it's okay!” She giggled again. “I just think it's great that you remembered that about me.” A light blush spread across her face. “Um, you can get in your gear if you want, though.”

“Well you'll need gloves, too, you know? I have another pair in my bag. Go get taped up and put those on.”

“Oh sure!” She jumped from the ring and landed softly, running over to the bag. She heard a thud nearby and saw that Karkat had also jumped off, though not nearly as gracefully. It was an awfully loud thud for someone so... _oh_.

He'd pulled off his shirt and was taping up his hands. She couldn't _help_ but to stare. He was... “What?” He looked over as he taped his hands, a scowl on his face

“What?”

“You were staring.”

She laughed nervously as she dug through his bag. “I, um, I wasn't expecting you to be quite so...”

“Completely ripped yeah I know.” He laughed. “In all honesty if I were to stop boxing I'd be a tiny little fucker. I've got to work out at least four times a week to keep my arms in hitting shape.” He frowned. “It's probably why I'm such a shitty programmer. Who has fucking time to program when you've gotta go to the fucking gym to not be a little wimp?”

“I don't think you'd be a wimp! You're feisty!”

He laughed sharply. “I could say same about you.” He finished taping his hands. “Do you need any help taping your hands up?”

“Uh, sure!”

He walked over to her and taped her hands up, a small smile on his face. “This is weird.”

She scrunched her nose. “Weird how?”

“Just being this much taller than someone. I'm not really used to it at all.” He laughed a little bitterly. “Being this fucking short as a guy kinda sucks.”

“Well you're tall to me!”

He smiled down at her as he finished taping her hands. “Well bugs are tall to you.”

She stuck out her tongue. “Well maybe the two of us should just go find some children's clothes and play dress up!”

He shoved her shoulder, playfully. “Hey fuck you, I wear men's clothes!”

“Well so do I but that doesn't mean that I should!” She giggled.

“Hey I say you can wear whatever the fuck you want. Besides, you look cute.” He scratched at the side of his face.

She just stood mouth agape. She couldn't believe that he'd just called her _cute_. And she didn't even start it! “Well I think that you'd look cute in children's clothes, though maybe with the way you're built it might be more like you'd just look good.”

“So, uh, you got a thing for dude's with muscles or what?”

“What?”

“Like you've been beet red since I took my fucking shirt off and you hang out with Equius all the time.” He smirked. “Is _he_ the guy you like? Because that's just fucking romcom shit right there. Best friends pining after each other or fits of unrequited love.” He nodded his head, his smirk turning into a grin.

“What, no! No no no! Equius has been my best friend since we met in pre-K!” She put her hands over her mouth.

“Ugh, that's good. I'd have to question your taste in men if you liked him.”

“Hey! That's my best friend you're talking about, mister!”

“Oh fuck, sorry. I've just got a case of foot in mouth disease.” He dropped to one knee and bowed. “Allow me to offer my humblest apologies on bended knee.”

“Oh get up, you silly butt!” She pulled him up. “Let's just get into our gear and try to beat the shit out of each other!”

He laughed as he got to his feet, standing remarkably close. “I don't think I've ever heard you swear before.”

“Maybe you're just a bad influence.” She bit her lip as she looked up at him.

“Yeah I know I am.” His eyes darted around her face a little. “Let's go get our gear on.” He turned quickly and threw her a pair of gloves and a helmet. “You have a mouth guard, right?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” She pulled the green guard out of her pocket. “See!”

“Good. You're gonna want that in.”

“I know that, Karkat, I'm not completely new to this. I know what I'm doing.”

He smiled a little. “All right, fine.” He pulled his own helmet on, the mouth guard hanging from a strap on it. “Then get your shit on. We're gonna spar in ten.”

“Sounds good to me!” She attached her mouth guard to the helmet and pulled them both on. Then she put in her mouth guard and pulled on the gloves. The whole get up felt cumbersome. She really wasn't used to wearing full boxing gear. She sure was glad that she took up kickboxing. This shit was uncomfortable!

They went up into the ring and stood across from each other. Karkat stood at the ready in one corner, and she stood diagonal from him positioned to strike. She could see his muscles moving from flexing his fingers or rolling his shoulders. In her distraction, she almost didn't notice when he finally lunged forward with a determined right hook.

Fortunately she did notice and could dodge it.

And so their match began.

He would lunge and she would parry, matching blow for blow. Occasionally one of them would land a solid blow and send the other one stumbling. Nepeta kept having to remind herself not to kick at him. It wasn't kickboxing, afterall.

He was surprisingly light on his feet and was managing to almost keep pace with her movements, though his blows definitely had more power behind them. One had almost managed to knock her off her feet, and she couldn't have that! That would be the end of the match!

All of a sudden she felt a left hook that sent her stumbling and she retaliated by kicking his legs out from under him. He manged to catch himself but he'd spit out his mouth guard. “I thought this was a boxing match not UFC!”

She spat out hers as well. “Sorry! Habit!”

“Fine, then let's just beat the fucking shit out of each other!” He ran forward with a wild swing, but, at least in her mind, all the rules were out the window. She started to roll to get away from him, though somehow he'd become a little more sporadic. From the way he'd moving she could see a sheen of sweat on his body and it beginning to become a distraction, though he seemed to be slowing down.

At some point they'd both fallen to the floor, bruised and laughing. Karkat rolled over next to her, laughing hysterically. “Holy fucking _shit_ , Nepeta!” He gave her a playful nudge with a gloved hand. “That was amazing! It's been a while since I've sparred like that.” He started to breath a little more regularly. “I didn't expect you to put up a fight like that.”

“Excuse you! I'm a force to be reckoned with!” She pulled her gloves off and threw them aside in favor of flexing her fingers. Karkat did much the same, though he went more for cracking his knuckles.

“You sure as fuck are.” He grinned and rolled onto his side. “So I guess neither of us won this match, huh?”

“No I don't think so.” She smiled back at him.

“Uh, I guess you don't have to tell me about that guy you like if you don't want to.”

“Oh no I was going to tell you anyway!' She giggled nervously and poked at a blooming bruise on his shoulder. “Sorry about those bruises.”

He shook his head. “No it's fine. I'm a big boy I can handle some bruises.” He brushed his fingers against her face, where a bruise was forming and her lip was a little cut. “Are you gonna be okay? I hit your face pretty fucking hard back there.”

“No it's fine! I've had much worse. Equius and I used to spar so this is nothing, really!”

He chewed on his lower lip. “If you're sure then I guess it's fine.” He pulled his helmet off and ran his fingers through his hair. “I don't know about you, but I need like a fucking shower or something.”

“You could come over to my place and shower! Then we could talk about things.” She smiled, hoping to sound nonchalant.

“Uh, yeah sure. I don't see why not.”

“Oh and you can meet my kitty cat!”

He laughed again. “Of course you have a cat.”

“Damn straight! Pounce de Leon!”

“That's clever, actually. My family car is named Princess Fluffle Fantastico. To this day I have no _fucking_ clue how she got saddled with that name. I usually just call her Fanny, though.”

“A pussy named Fanny? Very subtle.”

His eyes widen and his jaw dropped. “You!”

“Me?”

“I meant Fanny like Fanny Bryce in Funny Girl not fanny like British slang!”

She cackled at him. “I'm sorry! You brought that one on yourself!”

He shook his head as he sat up. “Maybe I did. But you were the one that brought it up you little perv!”

“I'm not a perv! I'm just... liberal!”

“No I think you're still probably a perv, cat girl.” He shoved her shoulder playfully with a smile on his face.

“It's so strange seeing you smile!”  
“What?”

“Every time I've gone to your suite you've just had this scowl on your face like Equius always does!” She laughed a little. “You two are such sour pusses.”

“Yeah maybe we are.” He stood up. “Now let's get to your place. I really need a fucking shower.”

He grabbed his gear and jumped form the ring. He threw it in his bag and pulled on the shirt he'd been wearing. Nepeta followed after him, excited to show him her place, but terrified to tell him about her crush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is going to move a little more quickly than anything like ANMOE. It's a "side" fic in this AU, but it'll still be pretty long for not being a main anything. Hope you enjoy it! =]


	3. Slap Down The Negativity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Definitely doing better than I thought with this one!

She sat on her bed and listened as the shower ran. Her face was flushed and she still couldn't believe that he was even there, let alone in her shower. _Naked_. In her shower and _naked_. She shook her head to keep the image out of her mind, but failed miserably. Instead she grabbed her laptop and looked to see who was on Skype. Oh! Equius was still online! Had he not asked his lovely lady over to the room?

 

_:33 <equius!_

_D-- >Nepeta?_

_:33 <are you having fun with your lovely lady furiend?_

_D-- >Ah. Aradia has yet to arrive._

_:33 <really? well that's purretty lame!_

_D-- >She told me that she would arrive at e%actly 5:15pm. I'm going to hold her to this, though the anticipation is making me positively... perspire._

_:33 <well i'm awfurry excited for you! I hope your date goes well. :DD_

_D-- >I am not sure if this is a date, Nepeta._

_:33 <shh, details._

_:33 <but I gotta go! karkitty's getting out of the shower now!_

_D-- >Nepeta you will tell me what you mean by that this instant._

_:33 <can't gotta go, ta!_

 

She logged out of Skype giggling a little. She didn't often do anything like that to Equius, but it would do him some good. Besides, Karkat was out of the shower. She could hear that the water had stopped and looked up when she heard the door click. Karkat had his pants on but was busying toweling off his torso. She just watched, enamored, but turned away when she saw him looking up.

“Thanks for letting me use your shower, Nepeta. I feel so much better now that I'm not covered in sweat.”

She laughed a little. “Yeah, well, it's good that you took one! You were starting to stink pretty bad!” She stuck out her tongue at him.

“Hey fuck you that's just my man musk!” He sat next to her and gave her arm a playful shove. “It just so happens that only real men smell that way after they beat up a girl.”

She rolled her eyes. “I thought real men didn't beat up girls?”

“We only do when the girls ask to spar.” He smiled a little as he leaned back. “So. Who is this mystery man?”

Her face flushed deeply. “Well, um...” She looked looked at him and darted her gaze away. “Let's make it into a guessing game!”

“Really? We're going to do this?”

“Yes!”

“Okay fine.”

“Twenty questions!” That ought to keep him busy! She was so proud of herself.

“Okay, um... Rules?”

“No asking his name or his room number. At least not until the end.”

“Uh, okay.” She watched as he thought about his first one. “All right. Number one. He's a guy, right?”

“Yes.”

“Number two...” He thought for a little. “Do I know him?”

She nodded. “Pretty well!”

He clicked his tongue against his teeth. “Three: Does he wear glasses?”

“I don't think so!”

“Four: Is he tall?”

“Compared to me he is!”

“Five: Does he have a stupid stammer?”

She giggled. “No, he doesn't.”

He looked up at the ceiling and brushed his teeth against his lower lip. “Six: Is he an insufferable asshole?”

She shrugged. “He can be pretty crabby.”

He nodded slowly. “Seven: Does he always wear really stupid turtlenecks?”

“Nope!” He meant his cousin. Oh no, was he onto her already?

“Hm. Eight: How old is he?”

“He's about my age I think? Maybe a little younger.”

“Uh, nine: How long have you known him?”

“Not very long. Just since the beginning of last semester.” Her face was warm. Was he getting close to guessing?

“Ten: What's his major?”

“Um... I think it's something in computer sciences? Like programming?”

“Oh shit that's my major! I've probably had classes with him...” He licked at his lips. She really had to stop staring. He was going to notice eventually! “Eleven: How'd you meet him?”

“I, um, I met Equius at the dining hall and he was yelling at him.” She giggled.

“Shit that sounds like how we met. How many people yell at that dick weed, anyway? That was rhetorical and not one of my twenty by the way.”

She laughed again. “Okay!”

He rubbed his eye with the heel of his hand. “Twelve: What color is his hair?”

“Black.” She thought a little. “And like an inky, natural black. Not a blue fake black.” Uh oh was that too much of a hint?

“Thirteen: His eyes?”

Her face flushed a little. “They're kind of a dark, reddish hazel? It's hard to describe.” She looked away, her face flushed to her ears.

“Fourteen: How tall is he? He's taller than you, but so is everyone.”

“Um, I think that he's maybe about... 5'5” or so? More or less.”

He nodded. “Fifteen: Is he in any sports?”

“Yes.”

He looked at her. “Sixteen: Does he swear a lot?”

“Yeah...” She was getting nervous.

“Seventeen: Does he speak any other languages?”

“I think so! But I'm not positive.” She'd heard him yelling at his cousin, Kankri, once over the phone. It sounded like he was speaking another language, but that could have just been him speaking too quickly and making up swear words.

He took a deep breath. “Eighteen: Is he in the Prospit suites?”

“I said no rooms!”

“No room numbers. Nothing about buildings.”

“Fine.” She scratched at the side of her face. “Yes, he's Prospit!”

“Nineteen: Does he like romcoms?” His eyebrows quirked up and she couldn't say anything so she just nodded.

His voice was soft, all of its usual rage gone. “Twenty... Is it... Is it _me_?”

She looked up at him, his face was as flushed as hers and she couldn't help but to laugh as she spoke. “Yeah.”

He smiled a little as he laughed too. “Uh... That's... that's pretty fucking cool.”

She scrunched her nose. “You really think so?”

“Well yeah. You're pretty fucking cool and, I mean, I'd like to get to know you better.” He chewed on his lip and looked down. “Would you, maybe, want to, um...” It was strange seeing him so unsure of what he was saying. Usually he would just ramble indefinitely even if he didn't know what he was saying. He looked back at her. “You maybe wanna go out?”

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. “Really?”

He laughed. “Uh, yeah.”

“You mean you _want_ to go with me?”

“Yeah, you're pretty cool, you can kick my ass and you're not taller than me. Those are all super important.”

“Me being able to kick your ass is important?”

“Yeah, someone has to when I do something completely imbecilic. So, would be the person to hit me in the face when I put my foot so far in my mouth that even a strong man and butter wouldn't be able to get it out?”

She laughed. “Yes! I'd love to.”

His eyes searched her face. “That's pretty fucking cool.” He laid back on the bed and she laid down next to him, curling up against his side. He put his arm around her. “Wanna watch a movie or something?”

“Yeah sure! What do you wanna watch?”

“I don't know. You have anything good?”

“Define good?”

“Like a good romcom or something.”

She laughed at him. “Why do you even like those?”

“I don't actually know. It's just that, like, there's something about the whole kismet thing that really makes me happy. To know that we're not just floating corks on the sea. That like. There might be something tying us to other people. Something like fate.”

“I think that's all pretty cool.” She looked up at him, biting her lip.

“Yeah, yeah it is.” His face was calmer than usual, almost serene. He looked down at her, a smiling tugging at his lips. “Hey, uh, one more question.”

“What?” She scrunched her nose. What else could he have to ask?

“Is it okay if I kiss you?”

She felt her heart beat race as her eyes widened. “You want to?”

“Well yeah.” He laughed a little. “If you don't want to it's fine. Don't worry.”

“No! I mean yes! Yes you can!”

He rested their foreheads together. “Fucking awesome.” He pressed their lips together. She was so surprised at how soft his lips were and how gently he kissed. He carded his fingers through her hair as he moved his lips slowly, searching for the best position for them. She rolled on top of him and he hummed contentedly in his throat, putting his other hand on her waist. He pulled back a little, smiling.

“That was really nice, Karkat.”

He chewed on his lower lip. “Thanks? You're pretty good at that.”

She giggled nervously. “Um, thanks! Your, um, your lips are really soft.”

“You think so?”

“I dunno. Maybe I'll have to kiss you again to be sure?”

He smirked. “I can do that.” He brought their lips together with a little more vigor, but was still surprisingly gentle. He moved his lips again, this time parting them ever so slightly and brushing his tongue against her lips. She shuddered a little against him and parted her lips, letting his tongue move against her own. She brought her hands to his neck and jaw and pulled him close, and he moved the hands to her sides, rubbing lightly.

She gave a breathy sigh into his mouth and moved her hands down to his chest while he started to pull off her jacket. His lips and tongue began to move with more energy and force and she returned it with equal gusto. She moved closer, their chests flush against each other, but she pulled away, her face flushed, when she felt his erection against her.

Both of their eyes were wide, but she spoke first. “Um... Karkat?”

He furrowed his brow, frowning. “Uh, yeah?”

“Are you...?”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah I am quite so.”

“Sorry...” He looked away.

“Don't be! I'm flattered! I just, um, I'm not ready for anything like that? I've, uh, I've never...”

“Oh, what? No! No no no! I'm not!” He tilted his head back and gave a sigh that was almost a growl. “I wasn't going to... Wow. I mean. Yeah. I wouldn't do that to you. I mean it's not that I wouldn't want to? It's more that we're not at that stage at all. I asked you out all of like ten minutes ago. I wouldn't do that. I believe in romance and all that fucking shit.”

She giggled. “I'm flattered.” She pressed a small kiss to his lips and rolled back to his side, curling against him. She looked back up at him. “So that movie?”

“Yeah! How about... I don't know what do you wanna watch?”

“Let's watch something funny!”

“Well that's the point of romcoms.” He smirked. “We could watch something else, though.”

“Oh! I just got every season of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air! You wanna watch it with me?”

“Do zebras have stripes?”

She laughed. “I'll go set up my 360!”

He grinned. “Cool.” He placed another soft kiss against her lips, making a quiet, happy noise in his throat.

When he pulled away, she smiled and laughed again. “I'll just go get that set up now.” She got off the bed and turned on her 360, connecting the flash drive with the series on it to the front. She looked over at Karkat and smiled.

She couldn't believe that he was her boyfriend.

What a fucking day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THEY SMOOOOOOOOOOOCHED
> 
> I like this chapter.
> 
> I found it quite cute.


End file.
